My software + camera gear | from a Colorado Wedding Photographer

For Photographers

December 24, 2020

As someone who always has serious FOMO, you can say I’ve been around the block when it comes to my business. I want to try it all and make sure I have the best of the best and I also DON’T like when people rep something cause #influencers, and I end up trying something and it sucks. I’ve made a list of my favorite software for my wedding photography business and I’ll even include a few other tips of other things I’ve tried.

Find what works for you! If you’re a beginner starting out, you may not need software that is this extensive. But maybe you’re ready to just go for the best of the best. These are my personal list of favorites as a wedding photographer!

Pic-time – As a former Pixieset user, I’ve loved having Pic-time! I will say, I think Pixieset has really stepped it up with lots of features that Pic-time has, but Pic-time still wins for me. Pic-time is still up and coming so it certainly comes with it’s bugs. Like any new software, it can take a bit to figure it out. It’s totally worth it! I LOVE using their store, but there are still lots of options and labs that I would love for them to use.

Edited to add 2022: Still love Pic-time! Still the occasional bug, but customer support is awesome as well as the new features that are continuously added. They added an art gallery feature that I added and I’m really loving.

Our favorite Pic-Time features:

Art gallery feature
Making slideshows on Pic-Time
Making reels on Pic-time
Passive income for album sales + other product sales without having to do anything
Album design feature

CODE at checkout: BLNMTS – * must enter code to receive one free month for free for you & me. (and treats for Levi)

https://blog.pic-time.com/blog/year-in-review-2021

2. Dubsado – My new favorite CRM! Ah, I feel like I finally landed on one I’ll keep around for a while! I’ve been using Dubsado for over a year now. I previously used Tave and before that, 17 Hats. Each one was good for what it was in my business and just as times have changed and the CRM’s get better and better (and prettier.) I feel silly saying I need a pretty CRM, but yes, yes I absolutely need that. 😂 I spent some $$$ on my website, so no need to ruin the process with ugly contracts and questionnaires. I feel like my business has THRIVED since fully setting up Dubsado. It makes my life so easy to automate, run an amazing business, it’s beautiful and it’s so perfect for keeping everything I need for weddings in one place. I officially feel like an influencer, but this is comin’ from the heart y’all. It still has it’s flaws and can’t do everything so just make sure it’s the right fit for you!

Edited to add in 2022: Still LOVE Dubsado! So much. Their customer support is amazing and continuously launch new features and fix bugs.

3. Narrative – My favorite blogging tool! Narrative will be your saving grace. Nooooo need to design collages in Photoshop. I am a former BlogStomp user as well. I’m still the happiest with my Narrative decision, but BlogStomp is close behind. With Narrative being a newer software, there are sometimes glitches which can be annoying, but they are quick to fix the issues and it’s just one of those apps that you just want to stick with cause they’re going in the direction that you want to go. Ya know? I just found Narrative to be more up to date and user friendly!

Edited to add 2022: Narrative for the win! I’m noticing it works pretty seamlessly now and the auto/magic button to add photos to your blog post is amazing. I’ve heard it’s better for your blog to export on narrative, then upload to WordPress instead of a third party, but I love the convenience and SEO features and have never seen an issue uploading it via Narrative.

I have the pro yearly plan – get yours here!

4. Smart Albums – Album design and proofing. Also another new favorite software! I starting using SmartAlbums and SmartSlides last year. I think this is just a great way to elevate your business and your experience, but not necessarily needed if you’re just starting out. Their online cloud for sending drafts to clients has been HEAVEN. The clients can make comments and even select the pictures, see final edits. I guess you can still use Google Docs, but meh.

Edited to add 2022: I still love Pixellu for Albums, but Pic-time has been stepping up their game in their features and now offer album designing and proofing within your account. I’ve figured out a new system on this and really loving it!

I’m still designing within SmartAlbums because Pic-Time album design lacks design features, but I love now everything integrating together to make workflows simpler.

Adding:

Tailwind for scheduling Instagram Posts + Pinterest

Loupedeck+ for Editing

Lightroom + Photoshop

M1 24in iMac

Sandisk SSD Hard Drive

SD Memory Card

CF Memory Card

Canva Pro for designing projects

Skillshare for learning a new craft or working on a fun project

What’s in my camera bag?

Canon R5